"Sister Zhen, don't worry. Good people will get what's coming to them."
Lin Chang'sheng smiled softly as he spoke.
That day when he was masked in a black scarf, he was only seen from behind—how could anyone trace it back to him?
"Hmm, let's hope so."
Yan Zhen nodded, then said, "Chang'sheng, come over for dinner at my place tonight. I bought some good stuff."
"Alright."
Lin Chang'sheng nodded at her words.
"Also, I brought you a set of new clothes. Try them out."
Yan Zhen pulled out a set of clothes from her bundle and held them up against Lin Chang'sheng.
"Sister Zhen, I really can't accept this."
Lin Chang'sheng felt a warmth inside. Ever since he transmigrated here, Yan Zhen had helped him a lot.
"Your clothes are getting pretty old, so I made you a new set while I was at it."
Yan Zhen sized him up with the clothes and her face lit up with happiness. "Looks about right, fits you well. Okay, remember to come by for dinner tonight."
"Sure."
Lin Chang'sheng nodded.
Yan Zhen chatted with Lin Chang'sheng for a while before leaving.
"She's really nice to you—even made you some clothes."
When Lin Chang'sheng got home, Wenjing looked at him, eyes flashing playfully.
"Yeah, she's helped me out quite a bit."
"I used to worry about Ma Zhankui from the Cyan Dragon Gang, but now that that mysterious masked guy killed him, Sister Zhen should be safe too."
Lin Chang'sheng smiled faintly as he spoke.
"So you're not eating at home tonight?"
Wenjing looked at Lin Chang'sheng, and asked.
"Nope."
Lin Chang'sheng thought it over. Sister Zhen really was being kind.
........
Min Nan County.
Northwest.
High atop a mountain peak.
The inside was hollowed out, twisted like a maze.
In the very heart of the mountain was a space about thirty yards wide. On the ground, an array was drawn, covered in strange skeletal symbols.
A man around thirty, with a bizarre tattoo on his forehead, sat cross-legged in the middle of the array. Floating around him was a small triangle flag.
The banner flickered with tungsten light, and ghostly faces twisted across its surface, letting out waves of ghastly wails. Combined with the flickering flames on the walls all around the room, the whole place felt disturbingly eerie.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a shriek rang out from the cave entrance. Along with the sound, a ghostly spirit swept in—a woman, pale as death, eyes filled with bitterness, screaming all the way.
Right then, the flag before the young man flickered with black light, sucking her soul right into it.
This banner was odd; every now and then, another ghost would be drawn inside—sometimes a man, sometimes a woman, sometimes old folks, sometimes kids.
"Just one more year. Once I've gathered all the soul seeds, my Myriad Soul Banner will be completed—then I can head elsewhere."
The young man gazed at the triangle flag flickering in the dark, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes.
........
Mu City.
Hundred Herbs Hall.
"Angelica: Benefits blood and calms the spirit, strengthens and replenishes the blood, nourishes the spleen and stomach, stops bleeding and binds the lung."
"Atractylodes: Strengthens liver and regulates qi, moves qi and anchors the yang, clears the liver and opens the chest, promotes blood flow and relieves pain."
"Ligusticum..."
"......."
Lin Chang'sheng was reading a thick medical book—the Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia. It was packed with details of medicinal herbs and their properties. He'd have to master the book in just three months.
When the time came for assessment, if he failed, he'd be kicked out of Hundred Herbs Hall.
[Detected medical book Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia. Spend 500 Wen Coins to simplify it?]
Just then, a panel popped up in front of Lin Chang'sheng, flashing a red prompt.
"Huh? I can simplify this medical book too?"
Seeing the prompt, Lin Chang'sheng's eyes sparkled—he confirmed right away. "Simplify!"
[Great Dao is Simple: Simplifying Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia....... Simplifying....... Success....... Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia === Flip through the book]
Just as Lin Chang'sheng gave his mental confirmation, the panel popped up a bright red message.
"Just have to flip through the book?"
Seeing this, Lin Chang'sheng's eyes gleamed.
This was way too easy.
Lin Chang'sheng turned to the first page of Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia and checked his panel.
"Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia Experience Points +1!"
[Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia (Entry Level 1/50)]
"That quick—already at entry level?!"
Seeing the experience points go up, Lin Chang'sheng's eyes lit up.
He kept flipping the Pharmacopoeia back and forth, barely reading anything. In less than a quarter of an hour, he found his experience had already reached proficiency.
As Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia leveled up to proficiency, a stream of new info flooded into Lin Chang'sheng's mind—all about the herbs inside: their habits and properties, and techniques for identifying them.
The info instantly merged with Lin Chang'sheng's consciousness.
For a moment, it was as if he'd studied Hundred Herbs Pharmacopoeia for over ten days.
"Awesome, I'm already proficient."
Seeing this, Lin Chang'sheng's eyes lit up, and he began flipping through the Pharmacopoeia with renewed energy.
"Hey, look—is that clueless kid actually reading the Pharmacopoeia?"
"I doubt it. He keeps flipping all over. Can he even see what's inside?"
"If you ask me, he'll be thrown out in three months."
"......"
Meanwhile, in the back of Hundred Herbs Hall, there were more than ten other young people hoping to become Medicine Boys just like Lin Chang'sheng. Seeing him flip through the book so crazily, they all shook their heads.
Lin Chang'sheng couldn't care less about what they were saying.
He was just focused on getting Perfect mastery—once he had that, he'd have learned everything in the Herbal Pharmacopoeia.
So much better than memorizing things the hard way.
......
Lin Chang'sheng's house.
Noon.
"Chang'sheng, check out today's dishes—don't you think I've gotten way better?"
Wenjing brought out three plates and asked Lin Chang'sheng proudly.
Today.
Wenjing made tofu, stir-fried some greens, and cooked chicken drumsticks.
"Hmm, not bad, definite progress."
Lin Chang'sheng sat down, eyeing the food laid out before him. He didn't know how it tasted yet, but it looked decent—a huge step up from before.
"Huh? You..."
Lin Chang'sheng picked up a drumstick and dropped it in Wenjing's bowl. When he saw her face, he froze for a moment.
Wenjing's face was streaked with charcoal smudges. Clearly, she'd put in real effort to get these three dishes together.
"What's wrong?"
Wenjing looked at him quizzically, noticing Lin Chang'sheng's burning stare—her cheeks flushed red.
"I think you look great."
Lin Chang'sheng stifled a laugh and buried his head in his food.
Wenjing, hearing that, turned even redder, and quietly started eating again without saying a word.
"Knock knock knock!"
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"I'll go hide."
Wenjing's eyes flashed and she hurried off to the back room. Lin Chang'sheng got up to open the door, and found standing outside a lean young man in blue, with an elderly man in black behind him.
"Who are you guys?"
Lin Chang'sheng glanced at the two of them, alert and a bit puzzled.